CAIRO — A program that will provide electronic “smart cards” to Egypt’s farmers aims to eliminate administrative corruption within the Ministry of Agriculture, prevent its employees from tampering with paper documents and ensure that subsidies reach the proper recipients. 

Agriculture and Land Reclamation Minister Essam Fayed said sometimes intermediaries insert themselves between the ministry and farmers, seeking to exploit the latter and intercept their benefits. In some cases, he said, merchants have been known to represent themselves as farmers so they can import large quantities of flour and receive subsidies.

The Agriculture Ministry will start its pilot program in the governorate of Isma’iliyah, Fayed told Al-Monitor. The Ministries of Finance and Planning are supplying 357.5 million Egyptian pounds ($40.2 million) for the project. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will supply technical consulting, and the Military Production Ministry will provide technical support and communications services, including a 24-hour support line.

The electronic cards will store information including a farmer’s name, identification number and agricultural land holdings. This will not only help farmers receive the subsidies they are entitled to, but it will also help to establish a vast database and provide precise information for state agricultural planning and design purposes.